Heroes and Troy

Group of London B 174

Amphora with Theseus Killing the Minotaur

c. 540–530 BCE

Black-figure terracotta, 42.3 cm high · Louvre, Paris

An Athenian black-figure amphora found at Vulci in Etruria, in excavations by Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino. The Louvre bought it in 1840.

• Theseus, bearded and in an embroidered tunic, drives his sword into the wounded, half-kneeling Minotaur.
• Look for the small bird in the field between them.
• Two young women and two young men watch, the Athenian tribute.
• The other side shows Heracles wrestling the Nemean lion.
• Parts of the black surface were repainted in modern times.

Each year Athens sent young people to Crete to be eaten by the Minotaur in the Labyrinth. Theseus killed the monster and found his way out with Ariadne’s thread.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain